An insignificant Addition
by Innoxa23
Summary: Post AoU. If live throws the Avengers a curveball what will they do? What will happen when they are forced to accept somebody else in their midst because of unforeseeable circumstances? How will their relationships develop? Eventually Romanner (I like that way better than Brutasha). Features Phil Coulson and an OC.
1. How the whole mess started

Hello everybody. I a well aware that my track record in finishing stories isn't the best and that this is very unsatisfactory. I will do my very best to do better this time. The problem is partially that I always end up writing way more that what the initial idea was. Anyway.

I am hoping for constructive reviews to help me with the process.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the marvel caracters, I have no intention on making any money on them and I appologize to everyone who feels I have not treated their favourit characters quite right. Sorry about that. I am just a fangirl who cannot wait for the next movie and therefore has to make up stories of her own.

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Steve was just glad the mission was over.

It had been as close to a disaster as possible. Well, OK they succeeded in the end but Falcon got insured, they accidently exploded the lab they were supposed to observe and infiltrate and Nat and Wanda got into an argument that almost blew Nat's cover.

Needless to say, she was pissed.

She had been accused of being a lot of things in the past, nice and much less niche things but if anything Nat was a professional. So having to deal with the much less professional but all the more enthusiastic Wanda during a covert operation, who thought she had the better plan, put somewhat of a strain on their relationship.

Steve just hoped that in time he would be able to smooth out the wrinkles in the new team.

He liked the new base. Ever since he had accepted the fact that living in this century had changed him he felt himself suddenly at peach in this new live. When this had all started so many years ago he was simply a man that wanted desperately to help his country and his comrades. He wanted to do nothing more or less than his duty and then return home. His encounter with Wanda in South Africa had finally shown him: He was not this man any more. He was not looking for a home with a wife and kids waiting for him. He didn't want a job that ended when the clock rang in the evening and the weekends off. Off course he knew that part the reason for that was that the love of his live, Peggy, was unreachable to him now. But knowing it, he was able to accept it.

His reason in live was something different now. Not fighting to protect is comrades and family. He fought to protect EVERYBODYS family. And that was not a job that new off time or weekends.

He was OK with that. He would always have the memory of Peggy. That one kiss …

Steve sight as he stepped from the Quinjet that had gotten them back from the San Diego Suburbs were their last mission had taken place.

"OK everybody. I want your reports by tonight. We will have a meeting to discuss the mission tomorrow."

"What's there to discuss" Wanda snappishly replied. "I thought I was not allowed to utter my opinion anyway!"

She was glaring at Natasha, who seemed completely unfazed by this. She was storing her weapons and did not respond neither to Steve's earlier statement nor to Wanda's provocation. But Steve could see in the way her shoulders were set and the slight flare of her nostrils, that she was furious.

He quickly interfered before the situation could get out of hand. "Wanda you can voice your opinion as often as you like but for future reference: NOT in the field." He stepped in front of her and waited until he caught her gaze. "Not the best contribution from you today. And you know it." The young woman looked up at him defiantly for another second. The she took a step back and lowered her gaze.

"I just thought this was a mistake I …" She mumbled and cast a sideways glance at Natasha.

"Well you thought wrong. Now get some rest everybody. We will discuss this tomorrow at the meeting."

While he was speaking Natasha had finished storing her weapons arsenal and pushed past him out of the gear room, which they had all come to after exiting the Quinjet into the Hanger Bay. She strode away to, if he was not mistaken, the gym to let of some steam.

Steve sight again. Yep this would take some time.

Natasha had still not quite taken to the new team. She had worked solo for such a long time, that adjusting to the new situation proved difficult for her. Working with Thor, Tony, Clint and Bruce had certainly been quite different.

They had become a team out of immediate necessity. There had been no time for individual struggles they had to work in unison instantly.

Steve smiled as he remembered Banner calling them a "chemical mixture that creates chaos" and although he had not been altogether wrong, the Avengers also proved to be an excellent combination of talents when it came to diffusing global threats.

With Tony at least temporarily gone, Barton retired and Thor away they had to work to regain the balance that they had found in the old team.

And then of course there was Banner.

Steve was not sure how fare he and Natasha had ever progressed. He had seen their banter, how easy it was for Nat to relax in his presence. He knew they had … something. But just what exactly it was and how deep it went he could only infer from Natasha's reaction to his absence.

And judging from that things had been pretty intense at least for her.

It may well be the reason she had so much trouble adapting to, and trusting the new team.

Not that Steve could fault her, he certainly knew the feeling. He just whished the he could help her in some way. Tonight, he felt, addressing the issue was proabably not a good idea. He would opt for distraction instead.

By the time he had made up his mind, Steve had reached his personal living quarters in the Avengers facility. He stepped into his living area which contained a small comfortable sofa and several well filled bookshelves but was otherwise sparsely decorated. He dumped his go bag with the extra set of clothes they always took on missions, in case the parameters changed and one day stretched into a week, and started peeling from his uniform as he made his way to the shower.

"Call Agent Romanoff" he instructed the AI which operated the building.

" _Romanoff"_ came her answer a couple of seconds later.

"Hey Nat. Will you join me to go into town later?" Steve inquired keeping his voice neutral.

There was a silence of several minutes so that he already began to suspect that she would blow him off before he could hear her answer.

" _Don't much feel like celebrating tonight Cap."_

"We are not celebrating. We'd just grab a drink or two, talk about the old times, gossip about the new. You know … hang out?"

" _Rogers you don't hang out!"_ he could have sworn she was rolling her eyes. _"And I don't need to be cheered up."_

"Maybe I do." he countered. "Maybe I met a girl in a bar the other night and need a wingman."

" _And you would take me?"_ Natasha asked in a disbelieving tone. _"No I rather think you are making this up so you can force me to socialise."_

"Well you were the one setting me up on dates, remember."

She had not jet hung up on him so Steve decided to give it one more push.

"Come on Nat. It will be fun. You can find me someone to dance with. Watching me making a fool of myself should cheer you up."

" _Yes and I said, I didn't need to be cheered up."_ she responded, but he could hear her silent grin and knew that he had won her over.

"I'll pick you up in half an hour?"

"Shure, If you think."

Her response was not exactly enthusiastic but at least he got her to come along with him. If he was successful at keeping her from sulking tonight, maybe tomorrow she would be in a good enough mood to forgive Wanda's overly energetic intrusion in her area of expertise when it came to infiltrations and cover ops.

When he knocked on Natasha's door 30 minutes later he was faced with her being still in a sour mood.

"I don't think this was a good idea. I am not exactly party material today." she exclaimed.

"That's fine. You don't have to be. It's not a party remember. Let's just go somewhere and talk. How is the newest addition to ...Huh." he broke off not exactly sure how much of Barton's secret live he could refer to without giving away his secret to overhearing ears. Natasha understood however.

"He is great." and with that she latched into an account of the latest Baby news which considerably softened her features and relaxed her shoulders. The Barton family always had that effect on her. Well maybe with the exception of Clint who more often than not CAUSED tense shoulders.

They rode into town in one of the unmarked Shield cars and picked a small bar with live music and an excellent burger menu. He was quite happy with his method of distraction given that halfway into her burger and their whispered discussion about the next birthday gift for little "traitor" Nathaniel, the last wrinkles on Natasha' forehead finally disappeared. She seemed to have pushed her worries and anger aside at least for the moment.

Steve was happy to see her relaxed and pleased with himself until she suddenly pointed to a woman sitting at the bar.

"Her" was her simple statement.

Now it was Steve's turn to wrinkle his forehead. "Beg your pardon?"

"Ask her to dance with you."

"Seriously Natasha? This is not even a place where people dance."

"You promised me some entertainment. And we do have live music."

"But not dance music!"

Steve started panicking a little. He had honestly forgotten about his half-joked comment from earlier. He glanced around to the Woman at the Bar. She seemed to be there by herself and was sipping at her beer while reading something on the table she had in front of her. Unlike most, who came to the bar, she was not dressed for a Friday night. She wore jeans, a plain dark T-shirt and sports shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. He could not see her face clearly from where they were sitting but she appeared to be young.

"You have to. You promised!" Natasha flashed him a wicked grin.

"Fine. Suit yourself. It's your loss since this means you will be sitting here all by yourself." Steve shot back.

He got up to make his way over to her. As he approached he found himself hoping that her boyfriend would appear form somewhere and save him the humiliation of having to try and talk a complete stranger into dancing with him. Preferably before he reached the bar and made a fool of himself.

Naturally, no such luck.

"Hi there." he greeted and immediately blushed when she turned away from her screen towards him.

"Hi."

The silence stretched uncomfortably as he was feverishly trying of something clever to say.

"Uhm. Strange place to be reading."

' _Really. REALLY Steve, this is what you are going with? Criticising her choice of entertainment!'_ he thought to himself.

"Maybe." she agreed lightly. "I had to finish preparing for a meeting tomorrow but staying in a hotel room seed kind of boring so I settled for a compromise."

"So you are not from around here then." he concluded.

"No. Just in town for the meeting."

"And what is it that you do?"

"I am a scientist. Biologist really."

"That's great. I mean some of my friends are scientists and they are … intelligent. I mean … interesting … to talk to. I mean …"

Her laugh interrupted him in his ramblings. "That's all right. The topic is not really fascinating to anybody but a cell biologist."

She had lightly touched his arm and when she drew her hand away from it, Steve couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. As soon as he noticed himself staring at the hand that she just drew back he blushed again.

"So you come here often?" she asked as she noticed his discomfort.

"No. Not really. I mean I've been here a couple of times. But I am not the type to go out much so … We just came to get distracted." Steve explained as he gestured towards Natasha, who was suspiciously busy studying the half a page long menu.

"Oh. So you are not alone then?" she asked.

Steve, realising what he had just implied blushed again. "No! No not like that! We are colleages. Just friends really. Actually," he suddenly decided going about this with the truth, "I promised Nat that she could pick out someone to dance with me. She didn't want to come and I had to bribe her with something."

"And that someone is me?" the woman asked with a sudden understanding.

"Well. Yes."

"Why not. My name is Elena by the way. But call me Lena." she smiled conspiratorial at him. "Let's put on a show then."

Steve's breath caught in his throat as she pulled him along to the small space unoccupied by tables in front of the band and turned towards him smiling mischievous. Steve noticed she was beautiful. Not in the classical way. She wore no makeup and was not styled to perfection. But her smile was infectious and natural, her face open and relaxed. Her blue eyes sparkled through the glasses that she wore. She had a small scar on her chin, like from an old accident and he noticed faint freckles on the bridge of her nose.

"I am Steve by the way."

He added, as they began to dance to the fast rhythm of the guitar that had just set in.

"Nice to meet you Steve." she replied, before catching him completely by surprise by spinning him around in tune with the music.

They did not get a chance to talk much after that, both having way too much fun dancing together. And they only noticed how late it had gotten when the musicians started a slow piece and the patron of the bar announced that it was the last song to be played. Steve looked up to find that Natasha had already left by then. He turned back to Lena, who had laid her head against his chest.

"So. I guess they are throwing us out." He commented as they were swaying gently to the last song.

"Too bad." Lena replied looking up at him again. "This was fun."

"It was. But you have a meeting tomorrow, as do I actually. I …"

Steve was about to comment on the amount of reading he would still have to do before calling it a night, when Lena suddenly kissed him.

His heartrate spiked and he almost involuntary pulled her closer. This was not how he pictured this evening to go. Captain America could not get drunk but it seems that being surprise-kissed may do the trick. He felt dizzy and light headed and he definitely was unable to think anything when Lena finally broke the kiss. But instead of leaving the bar by herself, she dragged him out with her and started heading down the street.

"Wait. I …" Steve had no idea what he was going to say. –Cannot go with you because I have to go back to avenging the world tomorrow and I am also extremely old fashioned due to the fact that I was born in 1918.- That didn't seem right somehow.

Sensing his hesitation Lena slowed and turned towards him.

"It's all right. Don't worry about it. This doesn't have to mean the world."

He looked at her hesitantly, so she drew him in for another kiss.

"You want to come with me?"

Steve unable to say a single word just stared at her.

"Then come with me. Not everything has to be set-in-stone-serious. Let's just have a good time."

And with that she dragged him off towards her hotel.


	2. Chapter 2

Don't forget to review.

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Steve woke the following morning in an unfamiliar setting. He was alone and it took him a second to recall how exactly he ended up in a hotel bead.

Naked!

Were they on a mission? But no wait, he went out with Nat last evening to tear her out of her foul mood and then …

With a shock Steve jumped out of the bead, hectically searching the room for his clothes and the woman he barley new but went home with yesterday. What was he thinking! Why on earth would he do such a thing!

He found his stuff but Lena was nowhere to be seen. As he dressed his eyes fell onto a small piece of paper which had fallen off the table as he snatched his shirt from it.

Calmer, know that he knew he was alone, he went to pick it up. The note was from Lena: "Good Morning. Had a very nice time, but I have to go now. Thanks, Buy."

Steve turned the little piece of paper over in his hands as if he expected to find any more information there. Did this mean, she just up and left? How was he supposed to respond? How could he respond to that? All he knew of her was her first name and that she was a Biologist in town for a meeting. He felt he had to … apologize?

Steve felt thoroughly confused. This was not how to treat a woman. This was not how HE wanted to treat a woman. But how could he change that now. He still didn't understand himself what had happened. He had been mesmerized by her, unable to say no and unwilling to tear himself away from her. In hindsight it was all Natasha's fault. She was the one who made him dance with her and then up and left him without even saying that she was going back to the Avengers facility.

The Avengers!

He suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be in a post-mission meeting. And he was running spectacularly late. Hastily Steve grabbed the last pieces of clothing and sprinted out the door. He found his car where he had parked it the night before (so Romanoff had been considerate enough to leave him with a plan of escape, not that he had enough wits to use it) and drove off towards the facility.

When he finally made it to the meeting room, everybody else had already assembled. If nothing else, Nat looked much better today, wearing a smug smile instead of her stone hard expression that made you think of a thunder storm looming at the horizon. She was staring at him, but she didn't say anything.

"You are late" Wanda complained.

"Yes. I apologize. Let's start the meeting shall we?"

Steve new, that he may be able to deflect Wanda's attention but he would certainly have to face Nat later. What was he going to tell her. Steve tried to push the embarrassing thought out of his mind and focus on the mission debriefing instead.

Maria Hill, who had coordinated the op from the Avengers facility was there with them and he asked her to recapture the progress for everyone. Wanda restarted her argument about what they had planned as the covert part of the op. Natasha sneaking into the lab, under the disguise of a foreign researcher interested in the progress made in chitauri-biotec weaponry.

"How would she have convinced him of that. She is not even a scientist." Wanda repeated her argument from the day before. Apparently she had decided over night that she was not going to let this slide and rather argue for what she believed to have been the better plan.

Steve through a glace to Natasha but she still seemed very relaxed.

"I couldn't have. But that's not what we were aiming for Wanda." She now responded rather calmly. "I was never going to drag this out long enough for him to become suspicious of me."

"But if he had asked just one question and you wouldn't have been able to answer it. Then everything would have been in jeopardy."

Of course they had counted on the fact that the researcher would have been much too occupied with staring at Natasha to ask any sensible questions. Wanda looked unconvinced. She had leaned forward and was scrutinizing Natasha with an intense stare.

"That may well have happened which would have meant I would have to improvise. But you bursting into the lab and triggering the security alarm meant that I had to improvise for sure.

In any case Wanda, when we have made a decision on how to execute a mission it is not your place to change the rules in the middle of the game. This puts everyone at risk."

By now Natasha looked distinctly less happy but Steve was relieved to see calmly explaining the stakes to the much less experienced Wanda. He was well aware that the young woman, seeing that she had so much greater offensive powers than the Black Widow, sometimes underestimated her team mate.

One of the problems the new team was still facing, was the inexperience of some of its team members. And the resulting trust issues.

As a matter of fact, he trusted Natasha to finish just about any job that she set out to do. Wanda however still had to learn that telekinetically ripping robots apart could still not compete with years of field experience and training. She had doubted Natasha's abilities more than once and it was beginning to strain their relationship. Natasha was here as a teacher. To pass on her vast knowledge on how to plan and execute anything form a rescue mission to an assassination of a terrorist cell. He did not doubt that she would have been much more effective operating on her own but she had agreed to be part of the avengers team so they would benefit from her skills. Wanda was having trouble seeing it.

Of course as the team leader it was essentially his responsibility to see to a good working relationship between all of his team mates.

He was going to have to talk to Wanda.

For now she seemed to have gotten the Widows point. Leaning back in her chair she had stopped staring at Natasha and was fiddling with the hem of her T-shirt to dub her sudden embarrassment. The rest of the meeting continued in relative peace.

Maria Hill had an update on Sam, who was recovering nicely from his harsh landing. The clean up crew had arrived quickly and injured civilians were ferried off to safety. It could have been a lot worse.

The meeting ended on the usual antics. "We have to learn how to function together as a proper team." "We need to trust in each other." Steve was well aware that no matter how often he gave that speech, unless they started having some real success it would mean very little. In the end only time would tell.

After the meeting the team dispersed. He saw Wanda and the Vision leaving together. They had been seen accompanying each other often lately. Wanda would choose a topic that she thought the Vision needed to be introduced to and make it her responsibility that he got the hang of a new "human" activity. Last weekend it had been going-to-the-park.

Steve smiled watching them leave. Wanda's difficulties with Nat were really just rebellious teenager attitude remnants. She had a good heart and she got along well enough with almost everyone on base. He was not sure why she had decided to bud heads with Nat. Maybe it was their contrasting personalities. Wanda was open and direct in how she felt. She was quick to like somebody and showed her feelings easily. If something bugged her you could see it on her face immediately.

Nat was of course the complete opposite. She kept her feelings close to her chest, so close in fact that some still believed she didn't have any. Which was of course ridiculous but never the less a constant source of rumours around the facility. Steve knew first hand just how deeply she felt about certain people but it was not his place to discuss this with anyone. So he was left with only being able to put a stop on the gossip if he happened to be close enough to her it.

Rhodney still had other responsibilities beside the Avengers and had left for Washington after the meeting. Which left him and Natasha.

She smirked as she got up from her chair and rounded the table. "Didn't make a fool of yourself after all." She stated smugly.

"What?"

"You seemed very comfortable dancing yesterday. So what's her name?"

"What you don't know already?" Steve joked.

"No. I've never seen her before."

"So why did you pick her out for me then?"

"I don't know. She seemed kind 'a nice. I was right though wasn't I?"

Steve smiled and fidget uncomfortably. He had no idea how to get out of this conversation with his dignity intact. Also, he realised as he glanced at Natasha, he would need some help. He didn't know what to make of the whole situation. But she would. Steve tried to prepare himself internally for what he was about to confess. It didn't really work. The words got stuck in his throat. He just couldn't tell her something so shameful.

Natasha studied him carefully and his internal struggle was not lost on her. She realized his problem phrasing what was going on and grabbed his arm to drag him out of the conference room. They were heading towards the roof where Sam together with a couple of R&D guys had set up a grill and relax area. The place was unoccupied at the moment and they sat down in a couple of camping chairs facing the warm sun.

"What's the matter Cap? What happened?" Nat inquired. "I had the feeling the evening was going well for you?"

"It did."

"But?"

"Well first of all. This was supposed to be about you. I wanted to ask you how you were doing!"

"And you had a whole lot of time for that. But you didn't."

"Yes because I wanted to …"

"That's actually not what we are talking about here. Don't change the subject. Spill it out."

"Well. The evening might have gone a little too well for me." Steve confessed turning such a bright shade of pink that he would not have looked out of place in Lila's bedroom.

The Widow raised one of her delicately shaped eyebrows. "Too well? You mean you had Sex?"

"Oh please Nat. Don't say it like that." Steve groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"So you did." She smirked at him. "Good for you Steve."

"But this is not… I shouldn't have done that. You are not supposed to…"

"Steve it's not 1940. Not every kiss has to end in marriage."

"I didn't say that but it' just not right to …"

"Steve really. Two consenting adults. She initiated this didn't she? I can assure you that she was definitely OK with it."

"But I am not. This is just not like me. I don't even know her full name. Hell I don't even know if she really told me her real first name."

"Do you think she was lying?" Natasha's brow furrowed. "For what reason?"

"I don't know? No. I don't think she was lying. All I am saying is I don't even know her and that's no right. What do I do know?"

"Well did she leave you with a way to contact her?"

"No." Steve pulled out the small note he had found on the floor this morning.

"She left only this." He handed the note to Natasha who glanced at it with an unreadable expression.

"Well from this, I would say that to her this was just a one-time thing." Natasha looked up at Steve and he could see her glance suddenly softening.

"Look Steve. I understand that you are not comfortable with this. I am not saying go out and repeat the experience. But don't beat yourself up about it either. I am sorry she up and left. But maybe it was just not meant to be. I don't think you hurt her feelings in any way, if that makes you feel better."

She continued to look at him and Steve could clearly see the compassion in her usually guarded and stoic face. So much for her being a robot or no capable of feelings. She reached out to squeeze his hand.

"I am sorry. I didn't expect it to go this way. I was not trying to set you up to get hurt."

"I know that."

"You would have preferred to have the chance to see her again."

"No. I mean I am not looking for … somebody right now. But she seemed nice."

Natasha smiled and let go of his hand. "I am sure she was. But sometimes it's just bad timing."

With that she stood up and headed for the door. "Heads up Steve. If it makes you feel any better, you definitely succeeded in distracting me."

Steve smiled after her as she left the roof. It was true it did make him feel better to see that she was doing better. And he would just have to forget Lena. Not that he had any other choice.


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome back everyone after the weekend. Thanks to all those that are still sticking with the story. I am keeping my fingers crossed for some reviews after the storie developes.

Have fun.

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The next three months past in a blur. Things got really busy as the Intel they were able to gather from their missions lead to the discovery of a not-so-secretly-operating secret cult that had decided that the Avengers had to be held accountable for the alien invasion in New York.

"The Chitauri really?" Sam had complained when they finally learned what was driving the men behind the attacks that were committed against the civilian population under the headline of –It's the Avengers Fault–

"Isn't that like totally old news by now?"

"Not to them no." Hill had disagreed. "They only took as long as they have to prepare their strikes and train their men."

They started dismantling the organisation which had amassed an impressive arsenal in terms of headcounts and fire power.

Mission followed mission and although the individual cells were not difficult to neutralize the sheer mass of people they were up against kept them on their toes and unable to do anything besides sleep when they finally were able to rest for a couple of hours.

The press of course had a field day. They quickly picked up on the story and escalated it to include events in Sokovia, Johannesburg and Washington, once putting blame on the Avenger for civilian casualties and destroyed property. The news footage about Nat's appearance in front of the Senate was recycled and amped up with lurid pictures about her violently taking down targets. That those target happen to be hydra soldiers and Ultron murderbots nobody seemed to care about.

So besides coordinating missions to protect the civilian population Agent Hill had to give constant press conferences to inform the public about what exactly the Avengers were doing to stop the terrorists. Needless to say she was beyond exhausted when the most recent crisis finally seemed to subside.

After two days without incidents, the thread level was finally lowered and everybody was allowed some uninterrupted sleep and time of the Facility. The Avengers took the opportunity and to go into town for a beer. They picked a restaurant on the outskirts so they would be able to return quickly when necessary. Sam had already ordered, simplifying his decision by telling the waiter to just get him the biggest meat dish they had on the menu as soon as they entered the restaurant. In the meantime Wanda and the Vision were still discussing what to order. Rhodey had been unable to join them and had headed to Washington for an overdue debriefing on the situation with his superiors. Steve had picked a steak with sweet potato fries for himself and turned to Natasha before waiving the waiter over to order.

"Did you choose anything yet?"

After their eventful stop at the bar 3 months ago her mood had taken a considerable downturn again. She was focused and precise on their missions, the training of the newer team members went well enough but she rarely socialized with any of them anymore. When they were forced to spend some time together, for example on the rides to the operations they were deployed to, she remained distant and cold. Steve could only guess what had brought on this new dissociation but among other things he presumed the current media onslaught had a lot to do with it. He just wished she would let him help her.

As it was, Steve was happy to have persuaded her to come to the restaurant with them. Usually when the team had some rest in the past 3 months, she would go off in search of her own solo mission to pass the time till their next mutual op.

"I'm going to take the salad." She finally answered his previous question.

Since Wanda and the Vision also had chosen their meals Steve waved to the waiter and ordered for the rest of them. The group fell into an easy conversation about that purposely avoided the newly defeated terrorists. Sam retold for maybe the thousand time the story of Nat throwing Jasper Sitwell off a roof in Washington and him catching him. They had all heard it before but Steve didn't stop him. The memory of Sitwell's face when kicked in the chest usually got Nat smiling and he was hoping for a similar reaction today.

Shortly before Sam could get to the big finale however, Steve's phone rang.

The conversation at the table immediately died as everybody stared at him with strained faces. Natasha was already halfway out of her chair. He grabbed her arm lightly to stop her from running back to the Avengers facility right away. Maybe it was nothing.

"Rogers!"

" _Captain, this is Hill. I need you to come back to the base immediately."_

"What happened? Is there another attack?"

" _No nothing like that. But I need you on base. And Agent Romanoff as well. Is she with you?"_

"Yes she is here. Do you want the rest of the Avengers to assemble too?"

" _That will not be necessary at this time. Just you and Romanoff."_

"Understood. We will be there in 20."

Steve ended the call and turned to his anxious team mates.

"No need for concern. There is no attack. Hill just wants Nat and me back at the base."

"And why is that no need for concern? If it is urgent enough to interrupt your 2 minutes of downtime in the last three months then I think that is plenty to be concerned about." Sam responded, not exactly reassured by his statement.

"I don't know what this is about jet. But there is no need for all our foods to go to waste. Just stay here, have dinner and eat my stake will you." he told Sam and got up to follow Natasha who had already left the table and was heading out the door.

"Yea and who is supposed to eat that green stuff that Romanoff ordered?" Sam called after him. "Now THAT I am definitely concerned about."

After a short and silent ride back to the Avengers facility Steve and Natasha exited the car find Maria Hill already waiting for them in the garage.

"What happened?" Nat asked before Hill had any chance explaining.

"I need you tow to meet somebody." Hill offered in a non-explanatory way.

Steve could immediately see that Natasha had just about had enough of cryptic remarks for the day. Her temper already strained she did not agree with Hills secretiveness. Her shoulders tensed visibly and she took one step towards the other woman. Steve, who had by now rounded the car, could see her face loose its typical guarded expression. Her eyes gleamed as they shot daggers at Hill.

"Stop this Bullshit. Tell me what's up or I am outta here."

Steve was going to interfere but was cut off when Maria responded.

"Calm down Romanoff. Believe me you want to see this."

With that she turned around and left them to follow her. Fortunately for Natasha's patience and everybody else's heads, they did not have to go far. Hill stopped in front of a milk glass door and they could clearly see one person moving behind it. A dampened voice could be heard through the door but it was too quiet to be made out clearly. They were left guessing as to who it was.

Hill turned towards them as if she wanted to say something before revealing their mysterious visitor. A look at Natasha's face however mad her change her mind and instead she just stepped to the side opening the door on the way.


	4. Chapter 4

A short one this time. The cliffhanger just seemed to write itself naturally.

I hope to see you all in the next chapter.

* * *

Steve was speechless. All he could do was stare at the men inside the office. It didn't feel like he would be able to recover from his shocked state any time soon either. Natasha had no such problem.

"You bastard!

I thought you were dead!

We all did. Well wait clearly not all of us."

She had entered the office while she spoke and for a second Steve thought she may be going to strangle Phil Coulson. On her last word however she turned back to Maria, how had entered the office behind her, still keeping the door open for himself. Nat was glaring at her. If she had been shooting imaginary daggers at Maria before, those daggers had suddenly become much less imaginary. Hill almost flinched. Almost.

He certainly did and if anything it did help him shake his petrified state. He stepped into the office and allowed the door to fall shut behind him.

"Nat. Wait a second …" he started but was interrupted by Coulson.

"I am sorry Nat. I couldn't tell you."

She spun back around to him. "Why the hell not. Oh wait don't tell me." her voice became bitingly sarcastic. "Keep the circle small right. Didn't know who you could trust."

She must have been seriously shocked, if she allowed her reaction to revile so much of the hurt that she was still feeling about Fury's choice not to include her in his little deception about his own death and now Coulsons.

"Natasha. It's not like that. Please let me explain." Coulson tried to calm her down. There was no accusation or disappointment in his voice. Her former handler only seemed concerned and either his concerned broke through to her or else she was slowly getting past her initial shock of seeing Coulson alive because Natasha indeed composed herself a little.

"You didn't die?" she rephrased her earlier statement into a question.

"No. But it was close." For a moment Coulson turned to him to shake his hand. "Captain Rogers, I am happy to see you again. As I suspected you did a marvellous job watching out for … Well for our world in fact. Thank you for that." he smiled at him with open admiration.

"My pleasure. So why did you decide to come back now?" Steve asked.

Coulson's expression turned serious. He breathed out deeply before gesturing to the table. "Let's take a seat." Monitoring for him to sit down he gently touched Nat's shoulder guiding her to another chair. Surprisingly enough, she let him.

"First off, I am really sorry. If it had been up to me, I would have told you. I mean after the battle. I was out for quite some time you know." He spoke both of them but he was fixed on Nat when telling them this.

"You really should have been told. However I cannot change decisions of the past. For better or worse, it was decided to keep this information from you."

"You mean Fury decided that." Nat interrupted him, her voice still bitter and full of disappointment.

Coulson hesitated just for a second. "Yes Fury decided that. But he was not alone in making that decision. Others thought it would be better for me to remain unchecked for a while too. And this meant not to tell any more people than absolutely necessary that I was still alive."

"You are still SHIELD?" Steve interjected noticing the insignia on the folder in front of Coulson for the first time.

"Yes. After you two took down the Hydra infested part, we tried to salvage what was left. Manly to give the SHIELD operatives who were still loyal to us a place to go. Also we had to recover as much of the stolen tec as possible.

But that is not why I am here now."

"Why are you here then?" Steve finally asked.

Nat it seemed had decided better not to speak again. She was looking at Coulson who was still sitting very close to her, one hand on her arm as if trying to regain some trust through physical contact. She had not shaken him off but she kept her arms folded in front of her and did not reciprocate the intimacy.

Coulson leaned back in his chair at last and pushed the folder which had been lying on the desk further towards them.

"The reason I am here is, because I have a daughter.

And she is in danger."


	5. Chapter 5

To say that he was surprised would be an understatement. As fare as Steve had known, Phil Coulson had not been married and neither did he have children. But then he had non known Barton's family existed before the guy had flown them there to hide.

Steve glanced to Natasha. He had not known the Agent for very long before his supposed death at the hand of Loki but Natasha surely had known him. Had she known about a daughter? Her face was a mask of indifference, smooth and unreadable. Had Steve not spent so much time with her in the past months he would never have been able to guess at what she was thinking. But as it was he was able to pick up on small tells. Her fists were clenched slightly, her breather was a little more forced that in would normally be, her posture was just a little too still to be natural.

That he was able to see even that much hinted at how shocked Nat really was. No she had not known about this daughter, he concluded.

He took a seat in one of the office chairs. "How can we help?"

Coulson shifted his gaze towards him and for a split second Steve could have sworn the other man looked at him with absolute fury. But the moment passed and Steve had to wonder if it had really happened. After all, what reason did Coulson have to be angry with him?

"We have to find her and bring her in for her protection."

"And you need the avengers for that?" Nat asked, her voice ice cold.

"I need you for that. I trust you." Coulson said intensely, turning back to her and reaching out to her hand once more.

Natasha still did not react.

Coulson's shoulders slumped a little as he gestured to another one of the office chairs. "Would you sit down? I'd like to explain."

"Will you let the others know that you are alive? Will you let Clit know? Because I am not going to lie for you."

"I will I promise. I just wanted to talk to you first."

They both took as seat before Coulson continued.

"She was sort of an accident. Her mother was married and not about to give up her marriage. Not that I wanted that. But it meant that I was never …

What I mean is, she never got to know me. We never met, I have never spoken to her. But I had to know she was OK so I did keep tabs on her. I always knew which city she was in and what she was doing."

Coulson had been speaking mostly to Natasha but know he broke of, looking to the floor as if he was unable to continue. His obvious distress seemed to have shaken Natasha out of her angry resolve.

Her stony gaze became concerned.

"And then what? What happened? Did you lose her?"

Typically of Natasha, who had spent all her live under the control of one or another governmental organisation of which some believed they owned her body and soul, she never even questioned the morality of secretly keeping tabs on an unknowing citizen. Steve was well aware but he did not feel that interrupting Coulson at this moment would be a wise decision. He seemed to be having a hard enough time already, telling his story.

"No. I ….heard she came into town

Three months ago

For a meeting. She is a cell biologist."

With that he looked back up, this time focusing on Steve and there was no doubt that he was angry this time.

Lena. Steve turned bright red.

"Seriously!" Natasha glanced between them. Her anger at Coulson, for faking his death seemed to have completely evaporated upon hearing these news.

"Captain America has one one-night stand and he happens to pick your illegitimate daughter. Strange how the world works." Her lips twerked up in amusement.

Coulson was not amused. "This is not how to …"

"Oh come on Coulson give the guy a break. It's his live, he can do with it what he wants. And besides it was her who left. Also I don't think you should be talking from this high horse of yours, considering you had an affair with a MARRIED woman."

Steve was still bright read and Natasha's defence didn't really help matters either.

"Look Coulson I am sorry. I don't know why I did this. It's not what I would normally do. I don't know …"

"What I don't understand is what this has to do with her being in danger." Nat interrupted before Coulson could respond.

"She is in danger," he responded through clenched teeth, "because she started going to the doctors once a month. To her OB doctor."

Natasha's expression changed to complete surprise. "Oh." She responded before shooting a glance at Steve. He looked befuddled.

"Her doctor? Do you think she is sick?"

They both stared at him. Coulson now with open contempt and Natasha still looked shocked.

"Steve and OB, that's a doctor you have during a pregnancy. She is pregnant. Is she pregnant?"

Coulson nodded curtly. "And I am afraid other people may figure it out as well. If somebody knows that Captain America as a baby on the way… It puts her in danger. They may be trying to control you through her."

"Wait. Wait a second. This cannot be." Steve wanted nothing more than to shake Coulson at this moment. This was impossible. They had used protection. It couldn't be his. How could Coulson even know it was his anyway? Had he observed every step his daughter took? Had he seen everything she did in the evening? Who spied on his child in such a manner? No! It was simply impossible.

Steve hadn't even noticed that he had gotten up from his chair. His pulse was racing, he was panicking. "You must be wrong. We …

I mean I would never do this. How can you even know all that?"

Coulson had gotten up too. Besides Natasha's insistences he did not look one bit less angrily at him. Whatever the truth was, Coulson clearly believed that he had put his daughter in danger by spending the night with her.

"Enough both of you." This time it was Nat who broke up the dooming fight between the two of them. "How about we find her and figure this out.

At least this way you both get to see her."

Coulson had shown them the file and left the office after that. It had Lena's work and resident address listed in San Diego and they would take a car in the morning to find her there and take her back to the Avengers facility. Which left them with a night of worries ahead. Or at least it would leaf Steve with a night of worries ahead. He had checked their equipment (about twenty tree times) made sure the car was filled up on gas (ten times) and read through the file (thirty five times) which did actually not contain much information. It was basically just a list of places she had lived at or visited in the last time. Steve was unsure if he found this relieving or if he would have preferred some more information. Probably both.

He just started to check their maps again as Nat entered the garage where he had shut himself in to prepare for the "mission". "I think you can stop now."

He dropped to the floor and rested his head on his arms. "Nat, what do I do?" he asked the foor.

"One step at a time. First we find her. Then we figure out if Coulson is right and she is really pregnant. Maybe she went to the OB for another reason. Maybe she has a boyfriend and they are PLANNING to get pregnant."

Steve turned around to her with a start, his brow was furrowed "Do you think?"

Nat smirked at him "I don't know Steve. All I am saying is don't panic just yet. Let us find her first."

They sat together in silence for some time before Nat spoke again. "Do you want it to be yours?"

"NO!"

"Of course not. That would be … It wouldn't be right. I mean we don't even know each other and a kid. A kid is supposed to have a mother and a father. We are not even a couple."

"So you would want you guys to be a couple?" Nat probed further.

"No. I mean I didn't. I was finally OK with being here in this century and being on my own. And now this. I don't know how I am supposed to handle this if it is true. What do I do Nat?"

"I cannot tell you. You will have to figure it out with her."

"So how are you with all this?" Steve finally asked after another long period of silence.

Nat shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It feels weird that he is back. I mean I get why they didn't tell me. I can understand why they used their deaths as tools, to manipulate us. I WOULD have done the same.

It doesn't mean that I like the feeling.

Coulson was very important for me. And for Clint, even more so for Clint. His death…

It was not a good day for either of us but especially for Clint. He blamed himself for that. He still blames himself as a matter of fact and I don't think doing that to Clint I can ever forgive Coulson."

Steve did not dare to speak afraid he was going to scare her into slice, not when Natasha was finally talking to him.

"The worst thing is, I keep complaining about being lied to and being manipulated by people which are close to me but I myself are no better.

I told him I would run away with him and when he came to get me out of this mess I pushed him off a cliff. How could I ever be surprised that he run? He said he would, he only did what he had promised me and I screwed it up all by myself.

Fact is Cap, he is much better off without me. I cannot be trusted. I have been lying for fare too long. It seems it's the only thing I am capable of anymore."

He was going to tell her that this was hardy true. That her reason for staying, for trying to wipe the read from her ledger as she put it, was because she had compassion. Compassion for other people, for her former victim and for the victims of the crimes they were fighting together. And that she deserved some trust, that he DID in fact trust her with his live. As he was looking at her, sitting next to him, her legs drawn up to her chest, arms around them a look of utter loneliness on her face, he didn't think she would even be able to hear him. Her mind was a million miles away, or maybe only a couple of thousand, maybe it was with a certain dark headed, dorky scientist that was currently considered MIA. It didn't matter because she would not believe him now.

Instead, he slowly scooted closer to her and very carefully put his arm around her shoulder. He half expected her to jump and shake his arm off like a wild cat that could not and would not be tamed but she only stiffened slightly before she leaned into his embrace. Steve felt touched that she trusted him enough to show herself so vulnerable. If he only knew how to reach Banner. He would kick his ass for this.

Well he would just have to add one more impossible task to his To-Do list.


	6. Chapter 6

Nat and Steve had waited until it 5 am before they went in search of Coulson, who would coordinate the search to report ready and head out. They were not surprised to find the man, wide awake and in a slightly ruffled suit in one of the offices. Apparently he also had gotten no sleep.

"We are ready to leave now." Steve declared as they found Coulson bent over a computer screen.

"Good. Please check in when you've reached San Diego. I am not expecting any trouble here but I want an update every hour after that just in case." Steve nodded in agreement as he watched the other men. Coulson was no longer glaring at him. In fact he now just seemed tired. His gaze settled on Natasha last.

"Be safe and good luck." he said.

The widow headed through the office towards him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. "It's good to have you back Phil." she said before she pulled away.

"But don't think I am not still angry at you.

And TELL Clint for god's sake."

"I will." Coulson responded, now with a small smile on his face.

They left the office and Coulson and headed back down to the garage they had just come from. It would take them a couple of hours to drive to San Diego. Since this mission did not require absolute speed they were not taking a Quinjet. Steve hoped that the drive would give him the time to figure out what he was going to say to Lena once he found her.

Somehow he doubted that _'Hey the dad you never knew you had, has been spying on all your relationships and thinks you are pregnant with my child because we had sex three months ago'_ would make a good opening line.

When they finally arrived in San Diego he still didn't know what he would say to her. He had tried to have the conversation about a thousand times in his head but everything had just sounded so stupid. Finally Nat had decided that he had to stop thinking about it and had distracted him making plans for the training next week.

When they were finally driving into the city it was late afternoon. Steve had no idea if they would be able to find her at work at this hour or if she would already have gone home.

"Let's swing by her workplace first. If she is not there, we can drive on to her flat and wait there for her." Natasha suggested.

"We could split up?" Steve suggested, not quite sure of the notion himself.

"No lets stick together for now. I have to say I am not one hundred percent convinced you would be able to get our point across convincingly right now. We have to convince her to come with us."

"Yea. Well, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Steve. That's not what I mean. You have the tendency to be super polite but honestly we cannot really give her a choice here."

"We are not going to kidnap her!" Steve protested at once.

"Of course not. We will simply make sure that she will decide to come with us. Or rather I will make sure of that. You can be the nice guy and I will play the pushy bitch." She smiled at him self-deprecatingly.

"You are not a bitch." Steve mumbled.

"Maybe not. But you are a nice guy and I had much rather you stay that way."

They drove in silence through the still sunny San Diego Streets to the address that was listed as Lena's work place.

"It feels odd not to creep up on a target for once. Just a strait forward meet and greet. It's not my usual MO." the Black Widow mused.

Steve furrowed his forehead. "Could you maybe not call her 'Target'. That's kind of creepy, you know."

Natasha laughed but instead of a response she monitored to the entrance of the building they had parked in front.

Lena had appeared there. She was just stepping out of the building's lobby into the sunny court that separated the building from the street. She was wearing a jeans and a plain T-shirt. Her hair was again pulled up in a messy bun that probably took only seconds to do. She wore flat, comfortable shoes and no make-up. Her whole appearance suggested usefulness before style. She had a dirty backpack with her and was fiddling with a bunch of keys apparently trying to find the one that would unlock her bike which she was now standing in front of. All Steve could do was stare at her.

"You know we could try and race her to her home if you liked." Natasha teased. "If you prefer to remain sitting I mean." Steve seemed to come out of a trance at hearing her words. He turned to look at her with a confused expression.

"She will be gone in about thirty seconds." Nat added indicating towards Lena again, who had unlooked her bike and was about to pull it out from between the others which were tightly cramped into the bike holder.

Steve finally reacted and got out of the car to intercept her.

"Lena!"

He called out while trying to navigate his way through the pedestrians that separated him from Lena. It was busy on the pavement as a lot of people finished work and were heading home, to their evening activities or to do some last minute shopping.

"Lena!"

She heard him on his second shout and turned around to find whoever was calling for her. She spotted Steve approaching and leaned her bike against the nearest metal post of the bike stand.

"Hi." She greeted him when he finally made it across the plaza. They stared at each other in uncomfortable silence.

"It's good to see you again." Lena finally offered. "I didn't think I would."

Steve lowered his gaze to hide the fact that he, once again had blushed upon remembering their previous encounter.

"How did you find me?" Lena continued before he could think of anything to say.

"I didn't. I mean I didn't had to. Your … I mean …"

Now was turning bright read. How on earth was he supposed to tell her any of this? How should he even start? Steve had had hours on the drive to come up with an explanation but he found that his brain was just empty now. He had no idea how to talk to her. He also had underestimated what kind of effect, seeing her again would have on him.

The sun was close to the horizon now and the light was soft and golden as it hit her. Her bright blue eyes shone brightly as she was looking up on him. It left him speechless.

"Maybe you would like to go sit somewhere and talk?" Lena offered a little unsure.

"Yeah. That would be great, ahm …" Steve looked around for Natasha but he could neither see her nor the car they had come in.

"There is a nice little café just down the street. They sell pretty good pie."

"That would be perfect." Steve agreed turning back to her. Nat would surely find them, he didn't have to worry about her. If anyone was about to get lost in this town, in this situation, it would be him and not her.

They made their way down the street towards the café where Lena locked her bike to a lamppost before they entered together. Steve let her pick a table and she choose a place near the window to catch the last sunshine of the day.

"You didn't have to leave so quickly the other day. After we …"

"Yes I did. I had a meeting remember." Thankfully she interrupted him before this could get embarrassing.

"Ah. Yes of course. I mean you could have left a number. I would have called."

Lena was smiling at him now. "Sure you would. I am not saying anything else. It's more that I wasn't looking for a boyfriend then.

I should really apologize." She added after a brief silence. "I don't normally do this. I didn't go to that bar to hook up with someone for just one night. I really just wanted a beer and some voices in the background. You were just …"

She broke off there unsure as how to continue. "I had a really great time. You know dancing with you. And then it just seemed … Natural. It seemed right." Lena finished in an uncertain voice.

She was turning her coffee cup round and round on the table to keep her hands occupied and Steve realized that she was just a nervous as he was.

"I don't have regular one night stand's is what I mean."

"You could have left your phone number though. I would have called."

"Sorry. As I said, I was not really looking for somebody right now. My job really did require one hundred percent from me right now and I didn't think it would be a good time to start a relationship." Lena explained.

"I also don't do one night stands." Steve insisted. He noticed that she was using the past tense rather often but he didn't know what to make of it. Or rather he was afraid to imagine what may have changed her mind from putting her job first.

"So how did you know where I was?" Lena repeated her original question.

Steve looked at her. He would just have to blurt it out. Sipping his coffee nervously he once again looked around. Didn't Nat say that she was going to come with him to make sure he didn't screw this up? So where the hell was she?

"Do you know your parents?"

Lena's expression changed into complete surprise. "My parents? Sure! Yes I know my parents. What do they have to do with anything?"

Oh God this was not going to end well. If she had at least known that her father was not her biological father.

"Did you mother ever mention something about your father then?" Steve continued clumsily, ignoring her question for the moment.

"Wat exactly was she supposed to have mentioned?" Lena was shaking her head in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Your father was not your real father." Steve finally blurted out.

"What?" Lena looked at him unbelieving. "Are you sure? I mean how do you know that?"

Steve realized that he did not have any means of convincing her. He had no proof about what he was saying to her. Great. This was going just great. Tasha where the hell are you? She thought not for the first time.

"I know your father. Your biological father I mean. He told me. He has kept track of you, you know. He wanted to know you were safe even if he couldn't be in your live."

Lena remained silent, just staring at him.

"I know this is a lot to take in but please believe me. He sent me here to find you. He thinks you might be in danger and he wants you … I mean we want you to come with us. You would be save with us."

"Why would I be in danger?" Lena finally blurted out, still in complete disbelieve.

"Your father is working for an organisation that has many enemies. Anybody who is close to him is in danger from them." Steve explained. He could see right away that this answer was not going to convince her. Her expression changed from disbelieve to outright refusal. What he was saying didn't make any sense and he knew it. He was going to have to do better. Bevor she could say anything he assembled all his courage to continue.

"Also…

Do you know who I am?"

Lena gave him a shrug "Steve?

I am sorry but I am afraid I don't know any more about you then what you have told me. If you are somehow famous I am afraid I missed it." She shrugged her shoulders and glanced at him apologetically.

"I said my job comes first for me. Well, you have to understand, scientist can be somewhat narrow minded when they are left by themselves. We sometimes are not so well informed about what goes on in the world. You know when you become involved in a project it tends to take up all your energy. So I am sorry if you are some famous sports guy or something I just…" She broke of there looking sheepish.

"Don't worry about it. I know a little about scientist. I used to work with one." Steven reassured her. So she didn't know he was Captain America. He had not believed it was possible that there was one human being left on earth how didn't know. But come to think of it her explanation actually made perfect sense. He just had to think back to the days Bruce spent in the lab in the Avengers tower and had to be dragged to the dinner table only to remain bent over his notepad in concentration, fork halfway to his mouth hanging over his plat and completely lost to the world.

Lena was looking at him and was clearly expecting an explanation. Now that he knew about her unawareness of hero status he suddenly dreaded telling her about it. Would she look at him differently after she knew? He had a lot of "screaming teenage fans" as Barton used to tease him but he found the idea that someone was attracted to him and not the hero much more trilling.

He had no choice but to tell her of course "I am Steven Rogers or if you like Captain America."

"Oh!

New York …

This meteor thing …"

There was an uncomfortable silence between them again.

"Look, I realize you don't really trust me or know me for that matter but I need you to come with me so until we figure out if you are in any kind of danger."

"Because we went out?"

"Well, yeah …"

Steve just couldn't bring himself to ask her about the other thing. If felt too private. He didn't think he had a right to probe her like that. And after all it really was not possible. Coulson must be wrong. If he had seen her go to the doctor it must be because of something else or someone else. Steve felt a strange pang in his chest at that thought. He pushed it aside, not really wanting to deal with that right now.

Lena sighed and picked her coffee cup up again. "I don't know what to believe of that story." she stated.

Steve wrung his hands together in desperation. "Please. I was not lying to you, I…"

"I didn't think you were but that doesn't mean that what you are saying is completely true.

It just seem so unbelievable. I meet a guy and even though I hardly ever go out in the first place I sleep with him and then he turns out to be a friend of a father, I didn't know I had. And then this guy tracks me down because having slept with him got me in danger?

Really? Does that all seem logical to you?"

"I guess it seems a bit incredible."

"That's a mild way of putting it."

They sat in silence again. The sun had finally disappeared behind the taller building. It was still light outside but soon the streetlamps would be turned on and the night live would start. When Steve let his gaze flicker over the street he could see Natasha outside. She had reappeared from somewhere, leaning against the car. As she caught his gaze she indicated her wrist. They were supposed to head back. WITH Lena.

He turned back and was about to try and convince her again when she spoke bevor him.

"I will come with you. But I don't promise that I will stay. I will not be locked up somewhere for my protection." she wrapped that word in quotation marks.

"I have another reason for coming with you and I suspect you already know it."

Steve's stomach suddenly seemed to be filled with lead. His heart rate skyrocketed as he broke into a cold sweat.

"You don't have to tell me."

Lena looked at him with a piercing gaze. "So you do know?

I am pregnant.

You are the father."


	7. Chapter 7

And before the weekend a longer one. Thanks to Black' Victor Cachat for reviewing.

* * *

They had driven home in complete silence after this revelation. Lena had looked at him as if she expected questions, come to think of it he probably should have asked her some, but he was just too stunned to respond in any way.

Nat had greeted them when they stepped out of the café. She had introduced herself to Lena and had shown her to the car. Bevor they left town they went and picked up some of Lena's stuff. She didn't pack much but Steve's mind felt too numb for him to think about that fact and whether or not that was supposed to mean something.

Nat and he had waited in the living area of the small apartment. She had tried to start a conversation with him but had soon given up when his responses seemed to consist only of one syllable answers. She had probably guessed all the important facts anyway.

Nat drove on the way home and Lena fell asleep on the backseat as soon as traffic died down and left them basically alone on the road. Steve felt slightly bad for not even trying to keep up a conversation with Natasha. She had been up for just as long as he had and must be getting tiered but he just couldn't bring himself to make any kind of small talk.

After the numbness had faded his brain got stuck in an unending loop of questions to which he couldn't figure out the answers. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to react to that? Once upon a time he would have gotten down on his knee and offered her a ring, no matter how he was feeling.

In a way he regretted that times had changed and that there was no clear cut answer to this problem anymore. The rules of society would have provided him with an answer back then which know remained elusive. On the other hand, this of cause meant that nobody expected him to stay with a woman he did not love and he supposed that this was a benefit of modern times.

He couldn't enjoy the thought however. He did not know what he was feeling towards Lena. He only knew that the live he finally seemed to get a grip on had thrown him into a loop once more.

They arrived at the Avengers facility in the early morning hours. Hill had greeted them there and shown Lena to a room that had been prepared for her. Not really up for anything else, they each went to get some rest before they were going to meet with Coulson.

After waking up Steve headed to the kitchen area. He found Nat already there deep in conversation with somebody at the phone.

"Of course he is a son of a bitch."

"No all I am saying is, we can do nothing to change the past but I'd rather not be…"

"I am not going soft but …"

"Really. Just make up your mind before you argue with me."

She snapped the phone on the counter that she was sitting on so forcefully the coffee in the cup next to her started building up dangerously high ripples. She snorted as she grabbed her muesli bowl and continued her meal that had obviously been interrupted by the call.

"Barton?" Steve asked.

Natasha nodded and then grimaced as she took a sip from her coffee cup. It had gotten cold while she talked to Clint. She set the cup down almost as forcefully as her phone just a moment ago and the mini tsunami that had just subsided build up again, this time reaching the rim of the cup and splashing coffee on the counter and subsequently on Natasha as she was sitting close by.

"Shhhh…"

Annoyed she hopped off the counter to look at the damage. Steve picked up a towel and handed it to her.

"Thanks'. Not my day it would seem."

As Natasha started to soak the coffee first from her trousers and then from the counter Steve went to get her a fresh cup. Setting it in front of her he moved to get himself something to eat.

"Do you know if she is up jet?"

Nat didn't have to ask who he was talking about. "I think not but don't worry about it, I am sure Maria told her where the kitchen is. She will probably come here when she wakes up. In any case she cannot really get lost her."

She took the fresh coffee he offered thankfully and sat down again, this time picking a chair. "How are you doing? Have you figured out what to think about this jet?"

"Not really. I mean I will support her, whatever she does. I sort of have to don't I?"

"Steve you have a voice here too you know. It's not just the girl that makes all the decisions. Would you even want to be a dad?"

"I have never thought about it. I mean I can count the number of dates I had on one hand. I have only just gotten over Penny. I didn't really think I would … you know, have to think about this any time soon."

Natasha nodded and looked at him, sympathy showing in her face. "All I am saying is, take some time to figure out how you feel. You deserve to be happy too you know." she smiled at him and it had a hint of sadness in it that she could not completely hide as she gave the line, that he had spoken to her at the party so long ago, back to him.

"Thanks'.

So what do you have planned for today? Will you be at the meeting with Coulson later?"

"Oh no. That is for family. I will go and wipe the gym floor with McColin's ass and I think Maria has some intel she wanted my opinion on later."

Steve smiled at her "You go do that. McColin had an easy week, about time someone took him down a notch.

Oh and for the record. You are family."

Nat looked up from her bowl at his words and he could see real surprise in it for a second or two. Then she dropped her gaze almost shyly, a small, soft smile appearing on her lips. She scraped in her empty bowl for no-existent oat flakes for a second before looking at him through her read curls.

"Thank you."

Her words were quiet barely audible above the background noise of people going about their business in the rest of the large house. Steve, knowing that Nat was still unsure about showing vulnerability in his presence, changed the subject quickly.

"How is Barton? You two are not arguing are you?"

"Not really no. He is angry at Coulson for not telling him he didn't actually cause his death. I could say I told you so but I just want him to get past it really. He had a hard time working through it after the Loki incident and of course it is great that Phil is OK but it also puts Clint right back into a dark place.

He is OK thought." she added after seeing Steve's concerned expression. He is at home, Laura is there and to be honest they have other problems right now. He just cannot dwell on that. Laura isn't going to let him or the baby for that matter."

"How is the little fellow?" Steve asked, his thoughts suddenly back on his own child growing inside its mother's womb.

"He is doing great. First teeth, so there is not much sleep for them right now." Natasha noticed that his expression had become sombre again at the mentioning of babies. She reached out to touch his arm gently.

"It's going to be fine. Give yourself some time to come to terms with it."

They were interrupted when the aforementioned trainee entered the kitchen to pick Natasha up for their sparring session. The poor fellow was looking rather pale. Steve waved Natasha goodbye as she followed the trainee out of the kitchen.

"Don't brake him." he called after her.

She didn't respond besides sending an evil grin in his direction. This was shaping up to be a very bad day for that poor guy. He guessed it would lift Natasha's spirit however. He hoped her and Barton were not in any serious argument. The last thing she needed was a confrontation with her best friend on top of everything she was dealing with. He was hoping he just witnessed Barton's first reaction to the news that his former handler was in fact well and about, and that Clint would come around after he had time to process the news. Steve certainly thought he would, Barton was not one to hold grudges.

He finished his meal and headed towards Lena's room. They were schedule to meet Coulson soon, so he was going to pick her up so she would have some time to get something to eat as well, before meeting her father for the first time.

As he was walking down a corridor his phone rang, indicating he had received a message. It was from Coulson, telling him to come and meet him on the sun deck.

The little sitting area was aptly named for its sheltered and sunny location. Everyone how used it had contributed something to the place. Besides the grill and the seats set up by Sam, people had brought up plants and tables and even a hammock for the occasional mid-day nap. When Steve arrived there he was surprised to find Lena sitting across from Coulson. She was balancing a plate of toasted bread on her knee and had a cup of steaming tee in her hands. She was laughing at something Coulson had said.

"So you two have already met." Steve came closer and picked a chair up on the way for himself.

"Yeah. I didn't really need to rest much. I slept in the car after all."

"She ran into me when she was wandering through the facility. We were waiting for you to wake up." Coulson explained.

"You talked already?"

Lena shrugged her shoulders. "Just about … how he met my mom and what happened. Why we never met before."

"I had a lot of apologizing to do."

"No. I mean I get it. I am not a fan of being spied on," at this point she threw a sharp glance in Coulson's direction, "but I get why he did it."

"So you believe it now?"

Again Lena shrugged "I guess so. It just seems a lot of effort to fool somebody and for what?"

She paused for a second looking at Steve.

"I think I just needed a minute to take it all in." she said apologetically. She didn't want him to think that she considered him not trustworthy but immediately bought into everything that Phil had said to her.

"Good." Steve smiled at her, not quite feeling it but then he wanted to reassure Lena never the less. "So could we talk about … how this happened?" he finished rather lamely. He could only hope Lena would take no offence in his clumsy attempt at a conversation. She apparently didn't since she put her mug of tea aside as well as her half-finished plate of toast.

"I am not sure. I can only guess why it didn't work. Maybe something was wrong with the condom? You know a couple of years ago I read about this scandal where they bought the cheaper latex and then the condoms became brittle faster than anticipated and there were a couple of children unexpectedly born. I think one of the mothers even sued the company for child support." Lena raised her hands in a gesture of indifference.

"However it happened I will just have to deal with it."

"You will deal with it?" Steve repeated, his voice sounding strained. Maybe she had already decided to abort his child? After all, she had emphasised that she didn't want a boyfriend just now, that her job was her first priority at the moment.

His child! Steve suddenly caught up to the phrase his brain hade provided him so effortlessly with. Did he really think of it as his child already? He had not been aware that he formed any kind of attachment but thinking about Lena aborting, getting rid of this unborn live, suddenly made his fist clench and his whole body stiffen with dread.

"Yes. I mean you can be part of it if you want to." Lena was looking at him, waiting for some form of reply or acknowledgment. Her words however, had thrown Steve in the other end of the spectrum of emotions. What did she mean by 'be part of it'? Did this mean that she wanted to keep the baby? Did she want him to be part of his or her live? Or was he supposed to accompany her to the doctor, to end it? He was torn between hope and fear, not knowing which version of the events he even preferred. His heart seemed to have made a decision and then neglected to tell him about it because he certainly did not remember picturing himself as the happy dad holding his new-born.

Some of his internal struggle, if not all of it, must have shown on his face because Lena reached out to him and took his hand.

"I am sorry this must be difficult for you. After all I already had six weeks to adjust to the idea but it is all completely knew for you.

I just want you to know, that whatever you decide, however much or little you want to be involved in this, is going to be OK with me. I know you didn't sing up for this, and I won't hold it against you if you walk away. I can do it on my own, I know that. It's not what I had in mind when I pictured myself in the future but I can do it. And if you want to be here, we will make it work. However you want to try this is fine with me. I mean we can give it a shot or if you rather not become involved, I mean romantically, that we could maybe just be friends – who happen to have a baby together. It's up to you, just think about it for some time. I guess the only option I cannot offer you is to abort the baby. I realise that this would solve the problem neatly, also with me being in danger because of this, but that is something I just cannot do. How knows, this may be my only shot."

Lena smiled at him and squeezed his hand once more before letting go and leaning back in her chair.

Steve felt his blood pulsing in his ears. So this meant he was going to be a dad. For sure. The most intense relieve flooded through him for seconds only to be replaced, equally fast by panic. He was going to be a dad. How was he supposed to do that? He should say something, he should respond in some way to what Lena had just said. Steve swallowed hard trying to come up with the right words.

"That's … uhm. I'm …"

"You don't have to say anything right now. I know how overwhelming it all is, believe me. It's fine."

Lena tried to reassure him again.

"So the baby is fine?" Coulson finally inserted himself in the conversation.

"Yea. Everything looks normal as far as the doctors are able to tell when it's this early."

"Good. Then let me be the first to say. Congratulations to you." Coulson was now beaming at her but also glanced at Steve.

"And to you, Grandpa!" Lena laughed.

Coulson covered his face with his hands in mock exasperation. "Don't you dare say that to me." he joked.

During their short banter Steve had managed to compose himself somewhat.

"Congratulations from me too." he said earnestly "So you are happy with this? With becoming a mom I mean?"

"Yes I am happy. Insanely happy actually. I shouldn't be I know given the more than unusual circumstances I should probably worry a bit more but I am." Lena was now positively beaming with happiness and Steve realised how much of her emotions she had been hiding before. She looked stunning, her smile so bright he couldn't tare his eyes from her for what felt like minutes. He had heard his colleagues at the Avengers facility talking about their spouses when they had a baby on the way and had heard their description of how radiant their wives suddenly looked. How they seemed to glow from within. He always thought this to be an exaggeration created by the love they felt towards their wives and unborn child. Now he found, he had to agree with them.

Once again Coulson saved him from the much too long silence that had set in when he started to explain how he intended to make sure that she and the baby would be save. Leaving the floor to Coulson, Steve was free to keep staring at Lena, lost in his thought until Coulson suggested a tour of the facilities.

They ended the day by introducing her to the other Avengers in their huge kitchen over a common dinner. The atmosphere was easy and relaxed. Lena engaged in witty banter with Sam, who had just come from the medical wing, and made easy friends with Wanda. Coulson shared a couple of stories about how he had observed her in the last years and she reacted by pretending to be shocked and angry for a second before she joined in with everybody's laughter about the comical situation that Coulson was describing.

When it was finally time to retreat to their individual quarters, Steve accompanied Lena to her room. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes and for once it was not uncomfortable. Steve had been able to relax, being around his friends, so that when he finally spoke it felt much easier than their intense conversation before.

"I am glad you like it here."

"Everybody is really nice. – I cannot believe that I knew so little about you guys. You saved to world like, how many times now?"

"That's all right. How well can you know anyone through the news anyways?"

"Agreed. This is a much better way of getting to know you, although I feel most of your fans have to make due with wat they can get." Lena replied jokingly.

"Oh so you are already a fan now?" Steve joined into the light banter.

"Of the Black Widow! For sure! She is assume. The other guys, I don't know. It seems they mostly just make her job harder, doesn't it?" Lena was grinning at him now and Steve, playing along, grasped at his chest.

"Your words wound me. You wouldn't be my fan?"

Lena laughed and shoved him playfully. "Maybe I still have to be convinced?" she suggested.

They had reached her quarters and came to a halt in front of her door.

"You know, I am sorry to have to drag you out of here in the middle of nowhere away from your job and your friends and family." he said, serious again.

"It's fine. I am on maternity leave anyway. My friends I can skype with and my family … Let's just say there isn't too much left that I will be missing."

"OK. That's … a relief I guess. – Wait why are you already on maternity leave? You are not that fare along?"

"Labs are off limits for expecting mothers. At least that's the policy of the company I am working for. They just don't want to risk anything so they send you strait home when you get pregnant. Actually I was dreading the boredom of the coming weeks but I guess here that will not be a problem."

"No it will not. Just let me know if you ever need to get out for some time, things can get a little – intense in here."

"Thanks. I will. Have a good night."

"You too. See you in the morning." Steve responded and watched her enter her room before he went off towards his own sleeping quarters. He marvelled at how easy this last conversation he had with her had been. It felt natural to joke with her and he was not self-conscious for even a second. He wondered how it would have been if he could have just gone out on another date with her.

He found himself genuinely liking her and thought about what this meant. How would he answer her question from earlier today? Did he want to be a friend or more?

He knew by now, that he certainly didn't want to walk away from the child. For once that would have gone against anything he had been brought up to believe in. The value of a family, the stability it brought even though he himself had only such a short period in which he was able to experience that. He still believed in that though he just had recently given up on ever finding that for himself. But what if he was wrong. After all, the other reason why he simply could not walk away from this, was because his heart certainly would not have let him. Thinking about his child he felt both excitement and utter panic but not indifference.

So what would he do? Steve's last thoughts before finally falling asleep were of Barton and his family.


End file.
